The writing, so to speak, was on the wall, and now, it seems, what we all feared most shall, in fact, come to pass: our brothers and sisters on Wall Street—from the 18th floor to the 80th floor, from the fixed income desk to the investment banking division, from Goldman Sachs to Lehman... no, Lehman is dead... to WaMu... no, I mean, you know what we mean—well, they're all suffering, that's all. Just like the rest of us. It won't be a pretty Christmas this year on Wall Street. Not with paychecks projected to drop (*scary music*) as much as thirty percent!! From the WSJ:

Our brothers and sisters on Wall Street stand in solidarity with you, Rest of America: they're …
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An investment-grade-bond trader who is a managing director at a top securities firm is likely to make $1.7 million to $1.8 million in 2011, according to the study. That is down from $2.9 million, said Options Group managing partner Michael Karp.

And bro, in wealth management divisions pay is only expected to rise 8%, which is practically like a 30% decline, by wealth management standards.

Face it, clamorous sign-wavers: Wall Street is sacrificing more than you. In absolute dollar terms. This could even cause a handful to slip into the 99%.